Loom operating with gripper shuttle



Aug. 2, 1955 R. G. TURNER LOOM OPERATING WITH GRIPPER SHUTTLE Filed April 1, 1953 INVE NTOR RICHARD G.TURNER 6&4/ WM ATTORNEY United.

1.00M OPERATING Wlil iii GRHPPER SHUTTLE Richard G. Turner, Worcester, Mass, assiguor to Crompton & Knowles Loom Works, Viorcester, Mass, a corporation of Massachusetts Appiication April 1, 1953, Serial No. 346,120

10 Claims. (Cl. 139-488) This invention relates to looms operating with a stationary weft supply from which thread is introduced into the warp shed by a gripper shuttle and it is the general object of the invention to provide normally stationary guide means for the shuttle so constructed as to permit the reed to move the weft which remains after a flight of the shuttle out of the guide means and beat it up to the cloth.

in looms operating with a stationary weft cone or supply and utilizing a small gripper shuttle it is customary to provide some form of guide for the shuttle by which it can be directed through the warp shed. This guide is generally made in such a way that it can be moved out of the path of the reed after the shuttle has completed its flight. The requirement that the shuttle guide be moved takes time in the loom cycle and movement of the guide is generally accompanied by considerable vibration, since it is actuated in a very small fraction of a second.

It is an important object of the present invention to provide a shuttle guide made with a plurality of thin plates normally stationary and fitting into the spaces between the dents of the reed. The guide is made of plates having guide holes therein which are aligned to define a guideway for the shuttle and thread outlet passages from the holes in the plates open toward the fell of the cloth so that the part of the reed which engages the thread left in the guideway by the shuttle can push the thread out of the holes and through the passages and up to the fell of the cloth.

It is a further object of the invention to mount the guide plates so that some part of them will always be located in the spaces between the reed dents thereby preserving registry of the plates with respect to the reed and also with respect to the warp threads which pass through the reed.

The beat-up reed may be of the usual type or may be of the rotary form as already proposed by me and when of the rotary form it is a further object of the invention to locate the guide plates in such position that the guideway will be intermediate the low non-beat-up and the high beat-up parts of the reed.

It is a still further object of the invention to have the 7 guide plates extend from a position above the top sheet of the warp threads through or across the warp shed to a position below the bottom sheet of warp threads so that the warp is always kept in proper registry with respect to the guide plates.

It is a still further object of the invention to keep some part of the guide plates normally in the spaces between the reed dents at one side of the warp shed, such as below the latter, and thicken these parts of the guide plates so that they can more nearly fill the spaces between the reed I dents for the purpose of holding the part of the plates which pass through the warp shed central with respect to the spaces between the reed dents.

In loom operation it is occasionally necessary to remove a mis-pick and with this thought in mind it is another object of the invention to mount the aforesaid guide plates on a carrier bar or common support preferably parallel to the reed and mount the support so that it can swing in a direction to move the greater part of the guide plates out of the warp shed, thereby facilitating removal of threads from the shed. When the guide plates are thus moved stop means arrest their motion away from normal position while they still extend entirely throu h and preferably above the warp shed to preserve registry of the guide plates with the threads of the top and bottom sheets of warp.

It is a still further object of the invention to provide a lock which normally holds the bar or common support in fixed position with the guideway of the plates in the warp shed, the lock however being movable to release the common support to permit the latter to move, as by rocking about a lengthwise axis, to a position which will facilitate a pickout.

In order that the invention may be clearly understood reference is made to the accompanying drawings which illustrate by way of example the embodiments of the invention and in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of part of a loom having the invention applied thereto, the reed shaft and harness frames being in section,

Fig. 2 is a plan view looking in the direction of arrow 2, Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail vertical section on line 3-3, Fig. 2, part of the guide plate being broken away,

Fig. 4 is a detail enlarged vertical section on line 4-4, Fig. 2,

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of one of the shuttle guide plates,

Figv 6 is an enlarged fragmentary plan view looking in the direction of arrow 6, Fig. 1, showing the relation between two reed dents and the guide plate and warp thread between them, and

Fig. 7 is a rear end view of one of the guide plates showing a part of the latter thickened.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, the loom frame 1 supports a breast beam 2 over which the cloth C moves. Top and bottom warp sheets W1 and W2, respectively, extend rearwardly from the fell F and are positioned by harness frames 3. A fixed bearing 4 supports a reed shaft 5 which during loom operation is rotated preferably at a uniform rate by drive means (not shown). A plu raiity of preferably metallic disk-like reed dents 6 having high beat-up areas 7 and low non-beat-up areas 8 are keyed at 9 to shaft 5. The reed dents are preferably though not necessarily of such a size that the warp v threads are always between them, as suggested in Fig. 1.

The reed dents are separated by spaces 10, Fig. 6, the width of which depends upon the thickness of the dents and the number of them per inch. The shaft 5 may be considered as means to move or rotate the reed dents which form a reed 11.

The structure for guiding the gripper shuttle is mounted on the beast beam and includes several brackets 15, two of which are shown, fastened to the underside of the breast beam by screws 16 which pass through slots 17 in the brackets transverse of the beam. The screws and slots permit back and forth adjustment of the brackets toward and from the reed.

Secured to the brackets are bearings 26 supporting a shaft 21 to which a common support or carrier 22 is secured. The carrier has hubs 23 keyed to the shaft as at 24 and is formed with a bar 25 rearward of the shaft. This bar has transverse slots therein into which thin preferably metallic guide plates 26 are fitted and fastened, as by soldering.

Each guide plate 26, see Fig. 5, is made with a rear upwardly extending horn 27 which always extends above the top warp sheet W1, whether the plate be in high or low position, as indicated in Fig. 1. Below the horn there is a part 28 of the guide plate which always enters into a space between two dents. Each guide plate has a hole 29 therethrough for guiding a gripper shuttle which is indicated at S in Figs. 1 and 2. Leading forwardly from the hole 29 is a thread passage .6 which opens toward the fell F of the cloth. All the plates 26 .a r,-e fastened to the bar with their holes 29. aligned to define a shuttle guideway G which is normally in the Warp shed.

The shaft 21 and; parts secured to it are normally held in fixed position with respect to the loom in order to maintain the guideway in the warp shed and as shown herein this result may be accomplished 'by a lever havinga hub, 36. keyed at 37- to the shaft Slidably mountedin the lever is a lock plunger 38 which is operatively connected to a lock arm or handle 39 pivoted at 40 to the lever 35. At the forward end, at the left in Fig. 2, a compression spring 41 is provided between the lever 35 and the handle 3 81 normally holding the latter in the full line position, Fig. 2, with the plunger o king p ion- A lockplate 45 is secured as at 46 to the loom frame and has the rear end thereof provided with two holes 47 and 48 which are the same distance from the axis of shaft 21;. Each of these holes receives the plunger 28 and has a close fit with it so that when the plunger is in either hole the shaft 21 and the guide plates will be locked in position. The plate 45 has a stop lug 50 which is immediately above hole 48, see Fig. 4, to engage the plunger and act as a stop to limit rocking movement of the shaft 21 for a reason to be described.

Under normal conditions the plunger 38 will be in the lower hole 47 and the lever 35 and handle 39 will be down in the full line position shown in Fig. 1. This position corresponds to alignment of the guideway G Withthe warp shed and the shuttle S can be picked through the guideway to leave filling 51 drawn from a stationary weft supply indicated diagrammatically at 5 2 in Fig. 2. The guideway is intermediate the high. and low areas 7 and 8 respectively of the reed and the shuttle will be in flight when a low part of the reed is in the warp shed, as indicated in Fig. l. The reed continues to turn While the shuttle is in flight and after shuttle flight is completed a high, area of the reed will move forwardly and push the weft 51 laid by the shuttle out of the aligned holes 29 and forwardly through the thread slots 30 to the fell of the cloth F. During this operation the guide plates remain stationary and in register with the spaces between the reed dents. The stationary guide plates and the rotary reedprovide a substantially vibration free mechanism for guiding the shuttle and beating up the weft, the guide plates being normally in. fixed position in readiness to receive the shuttle whenever it is. picked, and the balanced reed being rotated by shaft 5. During the normal. operation of the loom the horn 27 will extend a considerable distance above the upper warp sheet W1 and a part of theplate will also extend below the bottom warp sheet W2 so that the guide plates extend across the warp shed and beyond opposite sides of it.

It may occasionally be necessary to make a pick-out, in which event the guide plates can be lowered to provide room within the warp shed for removal of the defective picks. This can be accomplished by moving thehandle 3-9- to the dotted line position shown in Fig. 2, thereby removing the plunger 28 from thehole- 47, after which. the lever 35, can be liftedto the dotted line position shown in Fig. l, or until the plunger 28 is in register with the hole 48. The handle 39 can then be released. and the guide plates will be locked in the low dotted line position shown in Fig. 1'. In this latter position it \villbe notedthatthe horn 27 will still extend above the top warp sheet W1 so that registry of the guide plates with the warp threads is not lost when the guide plates are lowered. The stopSQ-ismade long enough to extend over the plunger, 38 when, thehandle 39 is inthe dotted line position shown in Fig. 2 and therefore serves as an effective stop to arrest downward motion of the guide plates while the horns 27 thereof still project above the top warp sheet W1. After the pick-out has been completed the handle 39 can be again moved to release the plunger 38 from hole 48 and the lever 35 pushed down to restore the guide plates 26 to their normal position.

It is desirable that the upper parts of the guide plates be prevented from contacting the reed dents, as shown in Fig. 6, to provide spaces between the guide plates and reed dents for the warp threads, thereby preventing the parts of the guide plates from engaging adjacent dents and pin by the threads. This result may be accomplished by having the part 28 of the guide plates thickened so they will occupy more of the spaces 10 than do the upper parts of the plates. This thickening may be efiected by dipping the parts 28 into a synthetic, such as a plastic, 55, Fig. 7, and the amount of thickening can be regulated by the dipping operation. The amount of thickening can be such that the plastic can substantially fill the spaces 10, as shown in Fig. 6, or such that a slight clearance exists between the dents and the thickened part to avoid wear of the latter by the dents. in any event there should be suflicient space between the dents and guide plates to permit free movement of the warp threads. While the thickening is described herein as being attained by application of a plastic, this is not the only means which can be employed to produce a thickening of parts 28 of the plates, or enable these parts to occupy more of the spaces 10 than is occupied by the upper non-thickened parts of the plates.

From the foregoing it will be seen that the invention sets forth a series of guide plates 26 which are normally stationary and provide a guideway for the shuttle through the warp shed. These guide plates are normally placed so that some part of them, such as.28, is always in the spaces 10 between the reed dents and in this way proper spacing of the guide plates and reed dents is maintained. The guide plates will extend across the warp shed as well as above and below it for all positions of the guide plates, whether the latter be in their normal raised position shown in full lines in Fig. 1, or in their lowered dotted line position such as may be required when a pickout is being made. Also, the reed as it advances upon completion of flight of the shuttle will push the filling thread 51 out of the holes 29 and through the thread passages 30 up to the fell F of the cloth. Provision is also made for lowering the guide plates and limiting their downward motion, as by stop 50, while the horns 27 still project above the top warp sheet W1. While the invention has been described herein in connection with a rotary reed the plates 26 are not necessarily limited in their use to a reed of this type. The support or carrier bar 25 is ordinarily parallel to the reed and the plates 26 project at right angles from it so that they can fit into the spaces 10 between the reed dents and provide enough clearance for the warp threads to pass them. The thickened parts 28 of the guide plates assist in maintaining the upper parts of the plates central with respect to the spaces 10.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, what is claimed is:

1. In a loom operating with a stationary weft supply and a gripper shuttle to introduce .weft from the supply into a warp shed formed by top and bottom sheets of warp threads, a beat-up reed having spaced reed dents, a plurality of thin shuttle guiding. plates having parts thereof permanently located between the reed dents and formed with aligned shuttle guiding holes to provide a guideway for the shuttle through the warp shed, each plate having a thread slot therein opening from the hole therein toward the fell of the cloth, and means to move the reed to cause the latter to move a thread left in the guideway by the shuttle forwardly out of said holes and. through said thread slots. to the fell of the cloth while said guiding plates are located between said dents.

2. The structure set forth in claim 1 wherein said guiding plates extend above and below the sheets of warp threads and across the warp shed.

3. The structure set forth in claim 1 wherein said guiding plates are secured to a common support which is parallel to the reed.

4. The structure set forth in claim 3 wherein said common support is pivoted to the loom for movement about an axis substantially parallel to the reed, and re movable lock means normally holds the support fixed with respect to the loom with said guideway in the warp shed, said lock means when removed from locking position enabling the support to turn about said axis in a direction to lower the guiding plates with respect to the warp shed.

5. The structure set forth in claim 4 wherein a stop arrests downward motion of the guiding plates while the latter are projecting above the top sheet of warp threads.

6. In a loom operating with a stationary weft supply and a gripper shuttle to introduce weft from the supply into a warp shed formed by top and bottom sheets of warp threads, a rotary reed comprising a plurality of disk-like dents secured thereto each of which has a high beat-up area and a low non-beat-up area, a plurality of stationary thin shuttle guiding plates having parts thereof located in the spaces between the reed dents, said plates having aligned guide holes therein to define a guideway for the shuttle through the warp shed and the shuttle passing through said guideway while the low areas of the dents are toward said guideway, each plate having a thread slot opening from the hole therein forwardly toward the fell of the cloth, and means to rotate said reed to cause the high beat-up areas of the reed dents to push a weft thread left in the guideway by the shuttle out of said guide holes through said thread slots to the fell of the cloth while said guide plates are located partly in said spaces between the reed dents.

7. The structure set forth in claim 6 wherein said guiding plates are so located that said guideway is intermediate the high and low areas of the reed dents.

8. The structure set forth in claim 6 wherein said guiding plates extend from a position above the top warp sheet of warp threads down through the warp shed to a position below the bottom sheet of warp threads.

9. The structure set forth in claim 6 wherein said guiding plates have thickened parts thereof below the bottom sheet of warp threads and located between the reed dents to cooperate with the latter to hold the parts of the guiding plates above said bottom sheet spaced from the reed dents.

10. The structure set forth in claim 6 wherein said guiding plates have parts thereof below the bottom sheet of warp threads between the reed dents occupying more of the space between the dents than the upper parts of the plates to cooperate with said dents to hold said upper 7 parts of the plates in the warp shed spaced from the dents.

Moessinger July 8, 1941 Moessinger Apr. 13, 1943 

